title: Beginning to talk like an adult: increases in speech-like utterances in young cochlear implant recipients and typically developing children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Speech-like utterances containing rapidly combined consonants and vowels eventually dominate the prelinguistic and early word productions of typically developing (TD) toddlers. It seems reasonable to expect a similar phenomenon in young recipients of cochlear implants (CIs). The authors of this study sought to determine the number of months of robust hearing experience needed to achieve a majority of speech-like utterances in both of these groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Speech samples were recorded from CI recipients at 3-month intervals during the first 2 years of CI experience, and from TD children at time points between 6 and 24 months of age. Speech-like utterances were operationally defined as those belonging to the basic canonical syllables (BCS) or advanced forms (AF) levels of the Consolidated Stark Assessment of Early Vocal Development-Revised ( Ertmer, Young, & Nathani, 2007).
  
  
  RESULTS
  On average, the CI group achieved a majority of speech-like utterances after 12 months of robust hearing experience and the TD group after 18 months. The CI group produced greater percentages of speech-like utterances at each interval until 24 months, when both groups approximated 80%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Auditory deprivation did not limit progress in vocal development as young CI recipients showed more-rapid-than-typical speech development during the first 2 years of device use. Implications for the infraphonological model of speech development are considered.
authors.affiliation: Correspondence to David J. Ertmer: dertmer@purdue.edu.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ertmer
authors.forename: Jongmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Diana True
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kloiber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation; D010700:Phonetics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement
keywords: aural rehabilitation; children; cochlear implants; development; hearing loss; speech development; speech production; vocal development